RonNMel

I'm a sucker for pet stories. Such a nice thing you guys did for her! She really is a cutie!!! Glad things are working out for the best. I have two cats of my own and I love them oh so much.

Félicitations et bienvenu, de la part d'une autre Montreal bride.

Thanks for the info. Can't wait to read your review itsfinallyhere!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Sweetpea_Mtl That sounds perfect! And you're using only the resort's WC? Yes I am. I want a simple and stress free wedding, so no need to have an outside WC. Not to mention our minuscule budget. You? Thanks for the info jstar, but like sweetpea, lots of my guests speak french, so I need someone local. Plus, I do find it easier to be able to see her face to face.

Yeah, I've seen that Helena Travel thing, but my gut feeling tells me she must be quite expensive. haven't actually tried to contact her though, so don't really know for sure. We're pretty sure we've found our TA. She has been to Cuba 9 times, so that's good that she has experience there. The best thing is that not only does she speak english and french quite well, but spanish is her first language, meaning there should never be any miscommunication between her and the resort due to a language barrier. That makes us feel so much more secure.

I like the tag with the hot pink the most.

It's so easy to get addicted to this message board!!! I'm so happy to have found BDW, it gives me sooooo many ideas for my wedding. But at the same time, I think it's kind of a curse too! What was suppose to be a very simple and casual wedding is turning into this big thing in my head. FI constantly has to remind me that we are on a very tight budget and that this is suppose to be a stress free and almost plan free wedding. LOL

I know how you feel! After we started telling people that we plan on getting married in spring 2011, we got lots of people asking us why not do it in 2010? Those people would tell us they'd be available next spring, but not the one after due to planning on getting pregnants, school, and other such stuff. But if we change it to spring 2010, we know for sure other couples won't be able to come for the exact same reason!! Same thing with trying to move the date to other times of the year. There is always something preventing someone from coming. Like others above me have said, at the end of the day you have to do what is best for you and your FI. It is your day, not anybody else's. We knew when we decided on a destination wedding that probably not many people would come. We accepted that fact, and decided that what was most important to us was the two of us getting married in paradise, even if we end up going just the two of us. Of course we'd love if others could join us, but it's not our priority. We've both been married before and done the whole big thing with friends and family, so this time we want to focus on us and our dreams. Instead of focusing on who cannot come, focus on the ones who DO join you. Have fun with those people, and bring back lots of memories and stories for the others.

Wow! I agree Amy that those pictures are amazing!!!! I wish I had the budget to bring my own photographer.

I'm really sorry that you have to go through this. I was so anxious about telling my dad about my DW because of that very reason: worried he'd say he wouldn't come. He is not a "tropical place" kind of guy and he's disappointed me lots of times in the past. I was soooo surprised when he actually seemed happy about my engagement and said he'd come for sure!!! Good luck with your dad, hope he changes his mind.

I did not even think of doing an OOT bag before I came to this forum (did not even know it existed actually). Then after reading stuff on here I wanted to put EVERYTHING in it. LOL Thanks to this thread, I've now cut down a lot to keep only the most essential and used things. Very good since I'M on a tight budget. Thanks to everyone who contributed!!

Same here. Yahimara had said she would email us pictures after the first wedding. We will email her soon to ask her about it. Will let you know if we get anything.

We have decided to go with someone from Club Voyage because they gives Airmiles. What we did is call bunch of travel agencies from the Montreal area, asking to speak with a TA that had experience with destination weddings. We aslo asked that they be bilingual, as my family & friends are francophones while FI's family & friends are anglophones. It took a while before we finally found someone that filled those two criterias, as well as seemed nice and positive enough on the phone while not seeming to be "trying too hard".

Yay! More Montreal brides.

Congratulations and welcome to the forum! Another french can here.

I had not even thought about the guestbook!! So many creative ideas! It's very early in the process, but so far I'm liking the dry erase board idea, as well the memory pages/postcards.

I'm probably going to be doing them myself, using things I will buy at Staples as well as Deserres (an arts & crafts store).

Thank you so much for this link! I was already sort of that mindset, doing a wedding on a tight budget and not letting superficial things overshadow it (for both my first wedding and this one). This blog gives me so many good ideas on how to push that even further. I especially like their vows (I love you because...; and because I love you...), and how they got so many people involved in the planning and doing. :-)

1. How old are you? 28 2. At what age will you get married? 30 3. Do you have children? Not yet, but FI has a 10 year old daughter 4. Did you think you would marry the person you are with now? Not at all at first, didn't even think the chance of us making it to "couple" was that great. Only took me a few months to change my mind though. 5. Were you ever engaged or married to someone other than the person you are with now? Yes, I was married for over 4 years. 6. Do you want a garden wedding, beach wedding, or the traditional church wedding? Barefoot on the beach 7. Where will you get married? Varadero, Cuba 8. First dance - classic waltz, slow and sexy, or fast and spicy? Not sure yet between slow & sexy, and fast & spicy. Depends if we take dance lessons. 9. How many guests did you/will you have? around 30 I think... possibly more 10. Do you want an extravagant wedding or a simple wedding? simple 11. Vows - traditional or something you make up on your own? We will make up our own vows 12. How many layers of cake will you have? Whatever they give me 13. Is your wedding/reception at a hotel? Yes, at an all-inclusive 14. When will you get married - sunrise, mid-day, sunset? probably mid-day 15. will you have your reception outdoors or indoors? dinner will be indoor. There won't be any formal reception, but we will end our evening at the disco. 16. Plan every detail down to the napkins or let someone else decide? Let someone else decide, I'm not a detail-oriented person. 17. How will the bride enter? I will walk down the aisle with both my parents 18. Song to walk down the aisle to: No clue, I guess the traditional march? 19. Song to make your exit: I need a song for my exit?? 20. will you have a solemn ceremony or a light one? A light one 21. At what age did you think you would get married? Got married at 22 the first time. Did not really know when I would get married again, but did not think it would be so fast after seperating (just over 2 years) 22. Who to invite - practically everyone or a select few? We thought just a select few at first, but now it's practically everyone 23. Wedding menu - fine dining or simply delicious? Depends on what the resort has to offer. 24. Champagne or red wine? I think they offer champagne, but I'd prefer red wine 25. Honeymoon right after the wedding, awhile after the wedding, or no honeymoon? the destination wedding is kind of our honeymoon, though everyone will be there with us... 26. Will your honeymoon be at a place special to you both or somewhere brand new to you both? Again, at the same resort, at the same time 27. Who will pay for the bills? We'll be paying for everything ourselves 28. Living together: Not before marriage or absolutely before marriage? Absolutely before marriage 29. Anything else about marriage you'd like to say? I'll be getting married to the most amazing guy on one of the most amazing beaches in the world, what more can I ask for? 2011 is so far away!!!

Which day did you book? We are interested in getting there in May 2011 too. Did you just book the wedding day, or your entire stay at the resort? Aren't those sold in packages (flight + resort). I was told that the prices for those packages would come out in April 2010, so I can't book anything until then. How much was the deposit, if you don't mind me asking?

So many people are asking us why we are not getting married in spring 2010 instead of spring 2011. A few of them have said that if it was 2010 they could come for sure, but 2011 is much harder (for some it's school, planning on having a baby, etc.). So hard sometimes to remember why we chose 2011 in the first place and not just let them all change my mind. But then I remember our reasoning, and the fact that this wedding is first and foremost for us two and not anybody else. If they can come, great, but if not it's not the end of the world. (Plus, a ouple of FI's closest friends are expecting a baby spring 2010, so no matter when we go it won't fit into somebody's plan)

Another Montreal bride here! Laval to be exact.

Yeah. I usually try not to let those negative reviews bother me, as I know some people are just picky. I've been to Cuba three times and know what to expect. It's just that the negative reviews all seemed to pop up at the same time, and they all started with "I'm not usually that picky and I've been to Cuba before", which is why I gave them more weight. But the very last review is more positive, more balanced, and puts some light into some issues the previous reviews had talked about so I've been reconciled with the ILA.

Quote: Originally Posted by carly There are quite a few I have with Matt. He doesn't know hot to shut a cabinet or drawer in the kitchen. Ever. And he def leaves a trail of clothes behind him. Oh yeah! My FI does that all the time. I really can't complain though. As others have said about their FI/hubby, Ron is so easy to live with. he does SO MUCH around the house and shows how much he cares for me every single day. Can't ask for more!

The last few reviews of the ILA on trip advisor haven't been that good. Hope it gets better when they have been opened longer...